The US refuses to publicly discuss its drone programme in Pakistan but drone attacks routinely target Taliban commanders in Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal belt, which Washington calls the global headquarters of al-Qaeda.

A suspected US drone strike in Miranshah in February killed Mohammed Haqqani, a brother of al-Qaeda-linked Sirajuddin Haqqani, whose network is fighting against US and local forces in neighbouring Afghanistan.

The drone war against Taliban leaders has focused increasingly on North Waziristan, a bastion of multiple armed groups, since a December 30 suicide attack killed seven CIA employees in Afghanistan.

North Waziristan borders Khost province, where a Jordanian doctor turned al-Qaeda double agent blew himself up in the deadliest attack on the US spy agency in 26 years.

Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked groups are blamed for a wave of suicide and bomb attacks across Pakistan that have killed more than 3,000 people since 2007.

The most recent attack claimed by Pakistan's Taliban was a suicide car bombing in Lahore on Monday that killed 15 people and destroyed offices used to interrogate suspected fighters.

Source:Agencies

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